Josh Silverman Sells 21,666 Shares of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) Stock

Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ETSY) CEO Josh Silverman sold 21,666 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.05, for a total value of $1,127,715.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 5,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,458.20. This trade represents a 81.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Etsy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ETSY traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.70. 3,447,866 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,426,424. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 2.00. Etsy, Inc. has a one year low of $47.10 and a one year high of $73.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.76.

Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $852.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $861.37 million. Etsy had a negative return on equity of 46.62% and a net margin of 10.80%. Etsy’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Etsy, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Etsy declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 17.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Etsy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Etsy by 183.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,961,952 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $331,067,000 after acquiring an additional 3,861,668 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Etsy during the fourth quarter valued at $74,235,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Etsy during the third quarter valued at about $55,530,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Etsy in the third quarter worth about $49,061,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Etsy by 132.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,490,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,827,000 after buying an additional 850,520 shares during the period. 99.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Etsy from $56.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Etsy from $70.00 to $67.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Etsy from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Etsy to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Etsy from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Etsy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.78.

About Etsy

Etsy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. Its primary marketplace is Etsy.com that connects artisans and entrepreneurs with various consumers. The company also offers Reverb, a musical instrument marketplace; Depop, a fashion resale marketplace; and Elo7, a Brazil-based marketplace for handmade and unique items.